CH.XV FROM MANAOS TO TARAPOTO 15 



am indebted to my friend Mr. Young, a good artist, 

 for strengthening the shading, denning the outlines, 

 and putting in the foreground, so as to render the 

 drawing suitable for reproduction to half the original 

 size.] 



Don Silverio makes an admirable priest for the 

 Indians, as indeed he would for people of any 

 colour. Low in stature and not stout, but firmly 

 knit, with a rather dark but ruddy complexion ; a 

 small well -formed mouth, which even in its most 

 severe expression speedily relaxes into a benevolent 

 smile ; a sonorous and untiring voice ; added to 

 this an irreproachable conduct very unusual in 

 South America, and an untiring vigilance over the 

 moral and physical condition of his parishioners. 

 Every day, both morning and afternoon, he has in 

 his house all the boys, both Indians and Mestizos, 

 whose parents will allow them to be taught, and 

 takes all possible pains to teach them to read ami 

 write, with such success that nearly all can do 

 both intelligibly. Their writing-books are mostly 

 nothing but slips of plantain-leaves, on which when 

 fresh the ink- strokes are very distinct. He is 

 much put about to find them reading- books, in 

 lieu of which old newspapers, letters Irom his 

 friends, and, in fact, any scraps of MSS. or print 

 are made to serve. lie finds it, however, 

 difficult to get them to speak Spanish, as out ol 

 school they speak only Lingua Inca \\ith their 

 families and playmates. Every -v<-ninjr. except 

 Sundays, all the young girls present tip 

 the corridor of his house, when- tln-y repeat to 

 the " Doctrina " at length. 



At feast times there is mass every morning 



